by Edward Champion

Agents Provocateurs in Minneapolis? Who Are the Umbrella Man and the Pink Shirt Pizza Guy?

I’ve performed an investigation using maps, photos, public records, and all available videos to determine more details about two figures known on the Internet as the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy, who were present during the Minneapolis protests for George Floyd.

As someone who spends a lot of his time creating realistic illusions for the ear, there was something incredibly off about a white man dressed in black, donning an umbrella, wearing a gas mask with purple-fringed nozzles, and deciding to hammer the windows of an AutoZone store in Minneapolis. By all reports, the protests that emerged in the wake of George Floyd’s death were relatively peaceful. The mysterious Umbrella Man — as I shall now call him — behaved like an undercover cop or an agent provocateur, with some people online claiming that he was a cop in St. Paul. The St. Paul Police Department denied that the Umbrella Man was working for them. There’s also flimsy and unsourced evidence — the kind of material that would never hold up in court or in journalism — floating around that features alleged text screenshots from the St. Paul police officer’s ex-wife. But this was easily debunked. I did a public records search for the police officer in question Minnesota Official Marriage System and there’s no record that matches up to the information that has been promulgated on social media. It’s possible that the officer and his wife married in another state. But if he was operating as a cop in St. Paul and the ex-wife identified his boots and mask, surely they would have married in Minnesota. I am inclined to believe that the St. Paul cop identified is not the Umbrella Man.

Nevertheless, the Umbrella Man’s behavior is quite suspect . There was also another man spotted around Minneapolis wearing a pink shirt and sometimes holding a pizza box (hereinafter referred to as “Pizza Guy”). Additional investigation on Saturday afternoon has revealed the Pizza Guy to be a benign Minneapolis activist belonging to a peerless group known as A Mother’s Hope. The Pizza Guy’s identity, which I am withholding unless he offers his consent, and his impeccable background has been corroborated with four people in Minneapolis. We still do not know what he and the Umbrella Man said to each other as they walked around the AutoZone building. And I have extended an open invite to the Pizza Guy through the organization to clarify any and all details of what transpired.

What follows is a methodical dive into all the videos and resources that I have been able to locate so far. Because if the fiery Minneapolis riots were instigated by these two men, then they are at least partially responsible for the shift from peaceful protest to the destruction of property — a transition that, as of this writing, has now erupted in cities around the United States. The incident at AutoZone changed the tone of the protests. The motivations of the Umbrella Man are unknown. In assembling this piece, I’m simply going to stick with facts that we can corroborate and isolate specific details that point to why the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy behaved as they did. If you are reading this and you have additional videos or details on either of these two men, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or get in touch with me so that we can carry on this investigation until we discover just who these two men are and what agency they were working for. Again, I am interested in facts, not conspiracies. And I will be as methodical as I can in this investigation.

1. The AutoZone Glass Smashing

The original video featuring both the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy was shot not far from the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct, near the AutoZone that was vandalized by the Umbrella Man. I have also provided an accompanying map. The line on the map follows the camera movement during the one minute and 40 second clip. At Position 1, the Umbrella Man hammers the windows of Autozone. At Position 2, there is an altercation between Umbrella Man and the woman shooting the video with her phone. Here is a summary of the events:

0:00-0:04: The cameraman helpfully identifies the police station of the Minneapolis 3rd Police Precinct.

0:09: The cameraman is disrupted by sounds of tinkling glass emerging from the Autozone behind him. We see the Umbrella Man, donning an umbrella on a perfectly sunny day (and thus presumably using the umbrella for cover), systematically taking out the windows.

0:15: The Pizza Guy approaches the Umbrella Man. Notice that the Pizza Guy is holding the pizza box like a regular person here.

Various activists approach the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy, shouting, “Hey!” Even the cameraman remarks, “Those cops will come from you if you’re pulling that crap.”

The Pizza Guy follows the Umbrella Man. At 0:35, there is a break in the source video. And I believe this to be a second video shot by a woman. The Umbrella Man is now seen alone, with the Pizza Guy following behind him. There is an unknown scream behind the wall at 0:40, along with cries of “Don’t do it! Don’t do it!” It remains unknown why the Pizza Guy is following the Umbrella Man. The Pizza Guy is then seen smoking some form of blunt (or claiming to). The second cameraman observes, “This guy just came with a hammer and smashed the windows.”

At 0:54 (Position 2 on the map), the Umbrella Man turns around and confronts the Pizza Guy.

UMBRELLA MAN: If you find me, I’m going to fight you right now.
PIZZA GUY: You, you want to go? What’s up?

The Pizza Guy then takes a hit on his blunt in a fairly theatrical manner, looking directly at the camera in the manner of a self-conscious performer.

PIZZA GUY: Someone hold my blunt.

The Umbrella Man then attacks the second camera person.

PIZZA GUY: Hey, hey, hey!

Someone then screams at the 1:08 mark, “Are you a fucking cop?”

The Pizza Guy then follows the Umbrella Man to the far end of the AutoZone building. What’s particularly interesting about this exchange is that both men raise their voices knowingly, almost as if this is a staged dispute for the camera.

2. Umbrella Man and Pizza Guy — Thick as Thieves

In a video posted by James Nurden on Twitter (source unknown), the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy return, starting at the 0:07 mark. Using Google Street View, I was able to identify the same bus stop and building in this video. The two men are moving along Minnehaha Avenue, just north of the AutoZone building. This video appears to have been shot just after Video #1. I have also attached a Google Maps screenshot, tracking their movement.

There are a number of things to observe here: (1) The Pizza Guy is now holding the pizza box under his arm rather than in front of him. Additional research and interviews on this story have revealed that the Pizza Guy was carrying around the box after offering it for lunch to his group. (2) We see the Pizza Guy being incredibly friendly with the Umbrella Man. The two are talking with each other as if they know each other. Minutes earlier, they were about to put on a fight. The exact reasons for this are presently unclear. We also see the Pizza Guy smiling, almost in the manner of an actor who had some fun putting on a performance.

3. Staged Intervention from the Pizza Guy?

In a moment that appears to have occurred sometime after the AutoZone incident, our friend the Pizza Guy — putting his palms up into the air — returns as protesters are throwing rocks at the 3rd Police Precinct station. He emerges at the 0:17 mark, saying, “Hold up! I’m trying to calm them down.” The three officers firing at the protesters never turn their weapons on the Pizza Guy. Then the Pizza Guy disappears with a jarring finality, walking off with a head shrug.

4. Interview with the Pizza Guy

In one of the more promising leads on the Pizza Guy, Stephania Dube Dwilson of heavy.com tracked down an interview that was conducted by journalist Emma Leigh Fiaja. The video date is identified as May 27th. Dwilson has also kindly served up a transcript. One of the particularly key moments in this video is this:

This does not matter if we just shut up after a month. This does not matter if we be quiet and we don’t respond if something doesn’t happen. We have to continue. So all of this is great, but where are all these people gonna be in two weeks, in three weeks, in four weeks, in two months? Where are these people gonna be at? Y’all fighting, y’all moving in anger, that’s fine. We need something to mobilize.

The Pizza Guy is not violent (and refrains from using profanity, using “eff” instead of “fuck”). Additional investigation has revealed that this was a good faith attempt to intervene with the police.

5. The Umbrella Man Returns!

In a tweet posted by WCCO photojournalist Dymanh Chhoun that is just outside AutoZone (specifically, the door with the graffiti that reads “FREE SHIT FOR EVERYONE ZONE”), the brave Chhoun reports that he has been hit with tear gas. But the Umbrella Man, who initiated the broken windows in Video #1, can be seen at the 0:22 mark.

We are left with a number of questions. Assuming that the tear gas was fired at Chhoun and others after the AutoZone smashing and the police precinct building vandalism, why would the Umbrella Man return to the scene of the crime? And why would he commit the vandalism so close to the 3rd Police Precinct building?

We’ve seen that both the Pizza Guy and the Umbrella Man didn’t wander that far from the corner of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. But they did both spend a lot of time close to the Minneapolis Police Department’s precinct building. Was the Minneapolis Police Department the entity that had the Umbrella Man on its payroll? And if there was another covert entity involved, did the Minneapolis Police Department work closely with it? (I tried making phone calls to the Minneapolis Police Department to hear its answer. I was told that there wasn’t a designated representative who could confirm or deny this question.) Organizers who attended the scene informed me that they were unaware of who the Umbrella Man was.

6. The Pizza Guy and the Umbrella Man Hanging Around the Police Precinct Building

In the last video I have been able to find, we see our pink-shirted friend, The Pizza Guy, calmly walking up to the 3rd Police Precinct building. He appears to be surveiling the scene. Note that, unlike Video #3, in which we see the Pizza Guy actively begging the police to back down, he does not intervene in the destruction — except for one moment at the 0:27 mark, in which he grabs a barricade held by a protester and throws it down. He wanders around the building near the front and he appears to be taking in details. It seems likely that the Pizza Guy was acting quite confused in the struggle.

Oh, and our friend The Umbrella Man, is also there.

CONCLUSIONS:

Both the Umbrella Man and the Pizza Guy were spotted numerous times near the corner of East Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue. Umbrella Man, in particular, was clearly videotaped inciting the urge to turn a peaceful protest into one that involved the destruction of property. While details about the Pizza Guy’s conversation with the Umbrella Man remain nebulous, we now know from people in Minneapolis that the Pizza Guy was acting in good faith. Perhaps the two men bonded in some way, with Pizza Guy unaware that he may have been talking with an agent provocateur. Umbrella Man’s deliberate vandalism of the AutoZone store is almost certainly the actions of an agent provocateur of some sort. We have learned over the course of this investigation that the group that the Pizza Guy was with was acting in good faith.

Serious questions must now be put forth to and answered by the Minneapolis Police Department, the Minnesota State Police, and any other law enforcement agency in the region about what connection, if any, they have had with the Umbrella Man.

[11:45 AM UPDATE: New information has come to light suggesting that there is some evidence that Pizza Guy may not be an agent provocateur. Pizza Guy’s pink T-shirt is associated with a group called “A Mother’s Love,” which has been profiled by FOX 9 and North News. I have amended this post to reflect this new information and am presently trying to get in touch with the organization to get more answers.]

[12:20 PM UPDATE: This story has been updated to correct a small error concerning the St. Paul police officer’s name.]

[1:15 PM UPDATE: After several interviews, I have identified the Pizza Guy, but I will not name him here unless he gives me his consent. Needless to say, he is a devoted member of A Mother’s Hope and he is not an agent provocateur. This article has been edited to reflect this new information.]

[5/31/2020 6:15 PM UPDATE: A reader named Eric points to this useful thread, which posits some information about the Umbrella Guy and a Maserati he may or may not have used to drive into Minneapolis.]

6/3/2020 8:00 AM UPDATE: Elijah Easley has released a video outing himself as the Pizza Guy:

[6/4/2020 11:15 AM UPDATE: In the comments thread for this post, a wonderful user by the name of doikster has offered an incredibly helpful time-stamp breakdown of the Umbrella Man’s activities. For those interested in a deep dive, I highly recommend doikster’s links and observations. I did, however, want to dispel one speculation that doikster brought up concerning a construction van. I spoke this morning with Tara, formerly of LeBlanc Construction. LeBlank has been out of business for two to three years. The owner has retired. And it’s pretty much Tara left. When the business dissolved, LeBlanc sold its van. And this is the van that is in the video. Presumably, the current owner of this van moved to the Minneapolis area, but never bothered to remove the “LeBlanc Construction” decals. So it was not a mysterious out-of-state van driving into Minneapolis, as has been suggested.]

79 Comments

  1. In your video #5 – There are other guys dressed in black with gas masks on hanging with umbrella man. True protestors for the cause or a bunch of trouble making agitators?

  2. “It’s possible that the officer and his wife married in another state. But if he was operating as a cop in St. Paul and the ex-wife identified his boots and mask, surely they would have married in Minnesota”

    Good thinking searching MN marriage records, but your reason for concluding he must have been married in MN is garbage.

    Still not convinced it’s the guy identified by his ex-wife, but not convinced it’s not yet either.

  3. Good work overall; you have broadened the scope of known facts with your discoveries. However, your efforts would be taken more seriously and you would have greater credibility if you refrain making speculative remarks such as “Umbrella Man’s deliberate vandalism of the AutoZone store is almost certainly the actions of an agent provocateur of some sort. ” If you want to attain the highest standard of investigative journalism you can do so by editing your piece(s) and removing all speculative statements.

  4. Good work overall; you have broadened the scope of known facts with your discoveries. However, your efforts would be taken more seriously and you would have greater credibility if you refrain from making speculative remarks such as “Umbrella Man’s deliberate vandalism of the AutoZone store is almost certainly the actions of an agent provocateur of some sort. ” If you want to attain the highest standard of investigative journalism you can do so by editing your piece(s) and removing all speculative statements.

  5. I’d love to hear Pizza Guy’s explanation of his actions, which seem odd though not as odd as those of Umbrella Man. And of course it would be great to know who Umbrella Man really is and who he’s with. (Does Pizza Guy know who he is?)

  7. Great article.
    Shared on my Facebook .com/plmontreal/posts/10164778080205725
    Thanks.

  8. I suspect the perp is an agent provocateur most likely a police officer or other LE agent from another group ( state trooper ?).
    My reasoning:
    His build, dress, actions, methods, the way he walks and presents himself. This is no angry, unruly, emotionally distraught Joe from the neighborhood, or even appear to be a petty criminal type He acts like a soldier on a mission: to discredit the protestors. His goal was complete his mission, and exit quickly. He didn’t grand stand, encourage others to participate, and was not a part of a group. He was a lone wolf.
    The mistake of those who assigned ( paid?) him for this criminal task was that the protestors did not join in and pillage the establishment as planned, and the pizza guy called him out.

    This happened at a peaceful G8 protest in a Canadian city like Toronto several years ago. The so called “rioters” were masked police officers, and the mayor of the city was forced to offer a public apology.

  9. In the “Pink Shirt Guy Interview” the woman hanging around in the background wearing a matching pink t-shirt has a bluetooth earpiece in her left ear.

  10. I also noticed the other guy with umbrella man in the video with the newscaster who was teargassed– clad in black and with a similar high-grade mask… good work. Are the Minneapolis PD “working” on trying to identify Umbrella Man?

  11. I don’t agree with one of your later assessments. The guy in the pink shirt was definitely trying to stop those people from throwing rocks in a later vid and he grabbed the barrier from someone who was trying to use it to smash through a window. You tried claiming he stood by and did nothing. You can see him facing the people throwing rocks putting himself between them and the building.

  12. I thought when the story first came out it was his ex FIANCE? AGH. My biggest concern is….is pink shirt pizza guy ok?

  13. Hey…nice work! I figured out the organization too last night. Glad you reached out. I definitely would like to hear what pink shirt guy has to say about his conversation. I believe the post from Dynamh to be before the windows. In other videos that I have come across…a periscope from Brad Svenson shows looting of AutoZone before the windows were smashed with a hammer. Also, the video that was posted by ThomasCLang1 on Twitter claims that he shot the video of umbrella guy and pink shirt guy walking together on the street by AutoZone shortly before 7 pm. So if Dynmah was live at 6:30 it would put umbrella guy there waiting to smash.

  14. Upon further watching it appears the red doors that are open in the selfie tear gas video are closed when hammer guy flees. So a full time account would be great. Also…where did the pink shirt guy’s backpack go? He had it in some videos but not others.

  15. I’m sorry I don’t know how it became his ex-wife but in the original messages I saw between the person who vaguely recognized him and the ex it was his ex-fiance. They never married therefore there would be no record. And it wasn’t mask and boots, it was mask and gloves.

  16. I think they’re both undercover cops assigned to work at the protests, but Umbrella Man did not expect another undercover cop to catch him breaking the windows. Pizza Guy seems to be trying to establish rapport like hey, no worries, we’re both cops, but Umbrella Man is annoyed and wants to get away from him.
    If they are both cops, that explains St Paul PD’s “alibi” that they knew exactly where their officer was and that he was working with colleagues who saw him.
    Also the graffiti on the Autozone is a favorite phrase of MAGA guys about “socialists” — that they want “free shit.”

  17. There are two pics of the cop that are on the twitterverse. Its really only one. One of them is reversed so that it gives approx the same angle as the pic of the umberella man. On some pics of the masked guy, the reversed pic has been photoshopped in. Check it out. You can see it. And I’m no expert. When I first saw it, I thought, “Thats him! Identical!….hey…wait a minute.”

  18. “friend Megan and ex-fiance of Jacob Pederson” was the text I read, to be honest even there is even one other version credibility falls totally to the ground…

  19. There are two pics of the cop that are on the twitterverse. Its really only one. One of them is reversed so that it gives approx the same angle as the pic of the umberella man. On some pics of the masked guy, the reversed pic has been photoshopped in. Check it out. You can see it. And I’m no expert. When I first saw it, I thought, “Thats him! Identical!….hey…wait a minute.”

  20. Who says there is just 1 umbrella guy? Multiple people in a ‘uniform’ like that would be indistinguishable from each other. If he’s an agent provacateur, it’s unlikely that he acted alone.

  22. In the video you see pizza guy and umbrella man walking almost side by side. You can faintly hear pizza guy repeatedly saying. This guys a cop. This guys a cop

  24. In the teargassed Dynamh video there was another similiarly attired man near the Umbrella Man.
    What caught my attention was his similiar attire and his black mask was also high-grade PLUS had distinctive vivid-coloured intakes (pink) like what Umbrella Man wore (purple).
    Such shared details are commonly used by undercover teams working together to identify each other in crowds or public places.
    Could just be a coincidence (they may have interacted briefly behind the teargassed fella but I can’t be sure) but this could be something for everyone to keep a lookout for if they spot someone behaving like Umbrella Man where they are protesting.

  28. The pink/purple cartridge tops mean P100 protection. It’s required through the industry, so let’s not focus on that as being part of any connection. Lose credibility that way. I also saw a video of a white dude in the Denver rioting dressed exactly the same way as umbrella man, breaking stuff until an African American organizer yelled at him and started chasing him away. Maybe not cops but some part of another group?

  29. I never heard it was his ex wife. The original post said ex-fiancé and she called him a a psycho — likely reason not to marry him?

  30. Really interesting about the car with no plates. MN press conference right now on MSNBC, officials are talking about cars with no plates (some stolen locally), headlights off, windows blacked out, full of weapons and rocks last night; they caught some of the drivers but not all. MN officials and FBI are contact-tracing white supremacists on the internet planning to show up at the protests. What I most want to know is this: If the cop in question is NOT Umbrella Man, why is he not putting out a statement to clear his name and face?? The attorney general of MN posted a thread on Twitter asking people to ID the guy — if they have him and it’s not the cop, surely his name would be publicly cleared by now. I agree Pizza Guy appears to act in good faith, assuming he is with a “colleague.” We have all seen cops all over the country commiting acts of violence — it’s not like it’s a big stretch. But why let his face and reputation be smeared this way? And officials, why not put out a statement saying the cop is not a person of interest? On the other hand, if they know it IS the cop, this silence makes quite a lot of sense as the investigation is active, the FBI is involved, and we are awaiting further charges on the other cops. Very interesting. Glad I’m not the only one obsessed. : )

  31. Short version of my theory: He is indeed the cop he resembles, and he is also a white supremacist.

  32. This whole thing needs following up. Perhaps the Umbrella Man isn’t a St. Paul police officer. But, your reasoning that his ex-wife and he had to be married in Minnesota is so flawed!! I’ve been married 4 times in my life, once on NYS, once in Michigan, once in Maryland and once in Quebec, CA. I now live in FL and have lived in a number of other states (WA, TN, Utah, Texas). I never lived in Maryland or Michigan. Many people have vacation weddings in the tropics. At any rate he is a white man intent on starting violence. This needs investigation until there are valid answers.

  33. The headline “Agent Provacateurs” PLURAL and giant photos of the man in the pink t-shirt AND the umbrella guy are incriminating in appearance. A person seeing this article would expect to see you lay out evidence that these two men were working together. And we know how quickly many people pass articles and jump to conclusions.

    While there are several videos of these two men sharing the same space, I see only one video where these two men interact with each other. There is no evidence that they “played out” this “scene” several times in different places or were otherwise “working together.” The man in pink is a legitimate activist and is interviewed elsewhere and his identity has been verified.

    Someone shared your article on my post asking this very question due to the misleading nature of your headline/photos, despite the details being clear. This reminds me of the common comic book trope of the journalist blaming both the superhero and the villain because they were “in the same place at the same time.” Please rethink your presentation here.

  35. In the 2nd video the pink shirt guy says ” this guys a police officer, right here” as he is steeping onto the sidewalk. Pink shirt guy is following the umbrella guy and harassing him.

  36. Honestly, my impression was that the umbrella guy was Antifa, trying to turn a peaceful protest into a violent protest. When I heard the accusation of “Are you a cop?”, I thought it was umbrella guy asking pizza man why he’s so interested in the fact that umbrella guy was breaking the windows.

    The implication of dressing in black with almost no skin showing was to give the impression that local Black people were getting violent rather than that some White guy from outside came in to agitate.

    So the claim that the umbrella guy is a police officer trying to discredit the protesters is a different angle than Antifa trying to agitate Blacks in order to get more Democrat votes in November.

    Peaceful protest gets a great deal of sympathy in this case, because the police use of excessive force seems fairly clear cut. Going violent undercuts that sympathy 100%. How does destroying local businesses help the community? So the police angle is plausible too.

    Clearly, umbrella man is from outside, and came with a distinct mission in mind. He didn’t stick around to loot the AutoZone, which may actually have been already looted when he broke the windows.

  37. There is footage of him getting in a blue Maserati. There are no tags from what this person has found, but I think it’s a good lead. Likewise looking into what kind of car the accused police officer drives. This is a great breakdown. I think Autozone was targeted because it’s filled with highly combustible and flammable materials. He opened the windows, someone else started the fire.

    I’m very curious who started the fire as well as who tagged the building.

    https://twitter.com/soychicka/status/1266235917766782977?s=20

  38. @Hannah Nicollet: The headline is not misleading at all. It posits the question — a fairly important one, given that the Umbrella Man’s vandalism was fairly pivotal in begetting more vandalism — of whether or not there are agents provocateurs in Minneapolis. Here in Brooklyn, I spotted numerous undercover cops during the George Floyd protests. There have been numerous reports of this in many cities.

    So it’s a reasonable hypothesis that there have been multiple people in Minneapolis operating in equal bad faith. This is one of the reasons why these videos captured the Internet’s imagination. I wanted to thoroughly investigate this so that we had more facts to work with.

    You may have encountered an earlier version of this article. I have confirmed that the Pizza Guy is a good-faith activist and have updated the article accordingly. He remains invited to share his experience with the Umbrella Man, but I understand he’s a very busy guy. Thanks.

  40. I was watching a number of LIVE streams that night, so I went back and rewatched them, and combined them with videos submitted to submit an updated timeline on Mr. UMBRELLA… I am also introducing PINKY (the woman seen all day with the PIZZA GUY) and UMBRELLAs buddy as other persons-of-interest. I have 5 videos that I will reference, I will name the video to check and the time to check it

    Sippizone-A
    https://www.facebook.com/TheRealSippiZone/videos/546429736245308
    Sippizone-B
    https://www.facebook.com/TheRealSippiZone/videos/274663983655629
    C’Monie
    https://www.facebook.com/angel.scott.73307/videos/3273741892665299/
    Emma
    https://www.facebook.com/emma.fiala.7/videos/786231895117478
    Brad Svenson
    https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ynJOpDZrawxR?fbclid=IwAR1E8f7-9ejs-q-SVRuXy_TrBZu8DKvIre0DllV_HjaIrA0v1Q1up6raq30&t=5m28s

    Actual times are approximated…
    5:19PM (Emma @ 10:37 & Sippizone-A @ 3:47:30) – PIZZA GUY is interviewed by Emma
    5:34PM to 5:35PM (Sippizone-A @ 3:56:59 to 3:57:36) – Mr. UMBRELLA is seen from the left of the precinct walking to the right, walks back & forth very close to PINKY and then exits stage right
    5:35PM (Emma @ 25:09 to 25:31) – Mr. UMBRELLA (or his buddy) helps tear down the police fence…at 25:21, you’ll see PIZZA GUY come into scene
    5:35PM (Emma @ 25:32 to 26:03) – PIZZA GUY works his way along the wall on the side of the precinct
    5:36PM (Emma @ 26:03 to 26:25) – Mr. UMBRELLA sprays wall with same white as the back of AutoZone then exits stage left towards the Target parking lot
    5:36PM (Sippizone-A @ 3:57:50) PINKY appears in front of police station spectating – what’s in her backpack? and you never see her protesting?
    5:37PM (Sippizone-A @ 3:57:55) Guy in black shorts and black shirt appears to grab something from PINKYs backpack
    5:37PM (Emma @ 27:56 to 28:10) – Pizza Guy appears to speak to the police officers briefly before exiting stage left towards the Target parking lot
    5:45PM (Sippizone-B @ 4:46 to 4:54) – Mr. UMBRELLAs buddy walks from left to right across the street and meets with UMBRELLA
    5:51PM (Sippizone-B @ 11:25 to 12:00) – Mr. UMBRELLA seen at top of screen next to a man with a head injury, he kneels next to him with his umbrella while on-site nurses tend to him…he’s holding something in his left hand I can’t make out (a rock?)
    5:57PM (Sippizone-B @ 16:39 to 17:46) – Still on the scene of head-injury guy, the camera shifts to still show Mr. UMBRELLA with the nurses.
    6:02PM (Emma @ 53:18) – Emma on the site of head-injury guy a few minutes later says “Somebody got hurt and is getting carried over there behind the AutoZone”
    6:06PM (Emma @ 56:36) – Mr. UMBRELLA and his buddy on the grassy hill still hanging out where head-injury guy was
    6:07PM (Emma @ 57:25) – UMBRELLA approaches intersection with a fist-sized rock in his hand, in his direct trajectory you see PINKY in the crowd ahead
    6:09PM (Emma @ 59:02) – Emma reports a rock being thrown to the other side of the building
    6:10PM (C’Monie @ 12:00 & Sippizone-B @ 29:00) – Explosion down the street by the Book Store
    6:10PM (C’Monie @ 12:23 to 12:48) – Mr. UMBRELLA from left to right seen crossing the street towards the Book Store and at 12:42 starts smashing the windows of the Book Store
    6:11PM (C’Monie @ 13:15) – Mr. UMBRELLA seen crouching behind the white car
    6:12PM (C’Monie @ 13:49, Emma @ 1:00:44, Sippizone-B @ 31:00 & Brad Svenson @ 0:49) – Streets are cleared with mass tear gas and mace
    6:17PM (Brad Svenson @ 4:59) – Mr. UMBRELLA walking away from tear gas with crowd
    6:18PM (Brad Svenson @ 5:31) – Mr. UMBRELLA returns rounding the fence towards the backdoor of AutoZone
    6:19PM (Brad Svenson @ 6:53) – Maserati with no license plate enters parking lot behind AutoZone
    6:22PM (Brad Svenson @ 9:56) – Maserati pulls out of parking lot as cameraman gets shot at filming the car
    6:30PM (C’Monie @ 32:02 & Brad Svenson @ 13:06) – “I can’t breathe” chant begins…
    6:30PM (Brad Svenson @ 13:31) – Mr. UMBRELLA breaks glass at AutoZone where PIZZA GUY confronts him… this is the 1st time you see PIZZA GUY without his backpack (C’Monie @ 32:21 you can hear glass breaking behind her),
    …you guys have seen the rest,

    Still looking for something after Mr. UMBRELLA and PIZZA GUY walked off together…

    ONE more weird thing I saw later in the hour:
    6:56PM (C’Monie @ 59:21) – A van pulls into a parking lot just before the sun goes down with “LeBlanc Construction, Building & Remodeling, (781) 893-2600, This business operates out of Watham, Massachusetts, serving the Boston market. With reports of bricks and wood being delivered to cities being vandalized, I found the timing interesting.

  42. There is a comment in the long twitter thread, that Maserati’s can be rented at MSP airport? Maybe other locations in/around the twin cities? Probably a good idea to at least check, and maybe who rented one.

  43. If somebody talk to pizza guy can they please tell me why he is caring around an empty pizza box all the time since clearly he is not delivering any pizza or eating any pizza? Since he’s holding it sideways and there’s no pizza in it.? What is the purpose for pizza guy with the impeccable background to be carrying around an empty pizza box? Maybe this is obvious but I’m not getting it

  44. So, if pizza guy really wants to help shouldn’t he be talking to the authorities to help identify umbrella man? I would think he would want to help arrest the man who was helping to destroy a Minneapolis neighborhood. I would think he would be doing whatever he could to stop the vandalism and violence unless he supports that. He has the most potential information about this obvious offender whoever he is.

  45. Why is pizza guy carrying around an empty pizza box when he is doing nothing related to delivering pizza? Is there a coupon on the box?

  47. Big Thanks to Doikster for the details!
    I noticed two details on Umbrella Man when he’s seen kneeling next to the injured guy: (1) appears to be a large square picture on the front of his shirt, which IIRC was not visible in any of the video around & after smashing windows at AZ; and (2) appears to be a bit of duct tape on the inside of his umbrella, about size of a business card but not rectangular. Are there multiple Umbrella Men?
    Also, a comment on 5:29 in the Brad Svenson vid: Umbrella Man crosses left-to-right (South), toward the gas, when everybody else is hurrying away, like he knows his mask will protect him from that (particular?) gas.

  48. I don’t think anyone has asked who the other two white guys are in No 5 – the Chhoun video. Behind Chhoun, there is umbrella man, another guy with similar breathing gear, mask, but then another guy in a yellowish shirt who seems to be pals with umbrella man. We we see him sit back on his motorcycle, and we see his face very well. Why doesn’t someone track that motorcycle guy down? Also, one has to ask: is Pizza guy a cop? He sure seems to working / for umbrella guy —

  49. “The Pizza Guy’s identity, which I am withholding unless he offers his consent, and his impeccable background has been corroborated with four people in Minneapolis. ”

    Why would I care about “four people in Minneapolis” who are unidentified? This is meaningless!!!!!! Your ‘personal investigation’ is meaningless because you have nothing to support your personal opinion. We are just supposed to take your word for it?
    Now THAT is some crack journalism! I’m going to get my press pass right now!

    Is pizza guy working with the authorities to help identify umbrella man?????

  50. I may not agree with your conclusions, but your research, and investigation, and ability to tie things together is spot on and very professional, sadly it would seem that regardless of their identities, their mission is not honoring Mr. Floyd, and making change ,but Anarchy, best bet, will be Antifa fringe, or other pro far left group, but don’t under estimate white supremacists, having an African American male in their employ, or circle to throw off the White supramcists true identity. ONE THING IS SURE, THEY WERE NOT MERELY PASSING ACQUAITANCES , BUT CLEARLY TOGETHER IN A WELL ORCHESTRATED SET OF ACTIONS

  51. I know the pink shirt pizza guy and would like to coordinate a confidential sit down about what ACTUALLY happened.

  52. @lynette Larson You may have noticed that black people face significant risks to their lives right now. David McAttee, a benign restaurant owner in Louisville who served the police free food, was gunned down just last night and is now dead. Murdered. Body cams turned off. That’s the time we live in and I think every journalist needs to be mindful of this. I certainly don’t want to put anyone at risk with this investigation. Rest assured that I spoke with multiple people during this investigation and they talked with me only because I gave them these assurances. Please try to consider the bigger picture.

  53. @Edward Champion – The most important question for me is as follows.
    Is Pizza Guy willing to work with (or currently working with) MN Attorney Generals office to answer questions about his interaction with Umbrella Man to provide any information that may help identify the man who vandalized the Auto Zone?

  55. Here is some actually great breaking news that explains the long weird silence from the cop in question, and explains why the MN attorney general was asking the public for info about Umbrella Guy on MSNBC and Twitter, and suggests Pizza Guy is in fact the hero many of us suspected, and suggests he is talking with authorities, and suggests that our eyes did not deceive us, that Umbrella Man is a cop, and also a racist vandal. Thank you for this blog, Ed!

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/state-minnesota-files-civil-rights-charge-against-minneapolis-police-department-n1222476

  57. @Suzi Umbrella man was suspected of being a police officer, but NOT Minneapolis. Your story link has nothing to do with the Vandal Umbrella Man and his acquaintance Pizza Guy. I want to make sure those who are responsible for shifting a peaceful protest into vandalism and violence are held to account for it.

    I think I will reserve judgement on the Louisville case as often these stories do not turn out to be what they were presented. Sometimes they even have totally false witnesses. https://www.bitchute.com/video/bYxC4OjLTRkf/

    @Edward Champion I think I will “pass” on taking your word for it. If i wanted to do that, I would just watch CNN.

  59. @Doikster — that was amazing. Can’t believe you were the first to actually put this information together! Such an obviously important series of events, and I’m thankful it’s not getting lost. I hope this is getting the attention it deserves by AG and FBI, and the public in general.

    Also note that handwriting of spray paint on Target is similar to that of autozone, so he might be in videos around the Target store as well.

  61. why carrying a pizza and why not put it down if you thought there would be a fight?

  62. UPDATE (I had someone spot this which puts Mr. UMBRELLA on the scene as early as 4:50PM):
    4:51PM (Sippizone-A @ 3:15:04 to 3:15:47) – Mr UMBRELLA enters screen from the left and joins the protest – another good look at the part of his face that’s showing. I couldn’t find any information about the logo on his hat, anybody recognize it…???
    4:58PM-5PM(Sippizone-A @ 3:22:04 to 3:23:25) – As cameraman is holding up rubber bullet, Mr. UMBRELLA is seen in the background in the same area. He is involved in the chants going on.

  63. Brad Svenson posted a live feed, with a datetime stamp of 5/28/20 16:56:23Z. We have determined the the time is correct, but the date was off – should have been 5/27/20. Based on Brad’s video.
    5:01pm Umbrella man walks south through the parking lot just north of Autozone.
    5:04pm Dark purpose Maserati observed driving slowly towards the Autozone parking lot. Believe Maserati was their to file Umbrellaman spray painting “Anonymous Zone” on the Autozone wall.
    5:05pm Dark purpose 4dr Maserati arrives in the Autozone parking lot.
    5:06:21pm Maserati begin to pull-out of Autozone parking lot. Believe Umbrellaman finished spray painting graffiti.
    5:07pm Umbrellaman begins smashing first two windows
    5:09:18pm Guy in pink shirt still watching protesters, still now aware of Umbrellaman.
    5:10:00pm Pink shirt guy approaches umbrellaman
    5:14pm (Approx) Umbrellaman and pink shirt guy on the grass on the north side of autozone.
    5:15pm (Approx) Umbrellaman and pink shirt guy at the intersection on the north side of autozone, and umbrellaman points finger at pink shirt guy.

  64. words “autonomous zone” on front by windows. store is “auto zone”. guy who was maced with umbrellaman and bud in background didn’t look as anguished as some of the other people who were maced. said took a few minutes with milk. saw medics telling people it would take ten minutes or so with solution. watch in video at police station. pizza guy stops rail, throws it back and as walking off, person in all black runs up and spray paints over the camera. pizza guy does nothing. pizza guy then walks out and splits. a guy that throws rock at station has to hoody guys walk up and stand right where he picks it up. pizzaguy is an aspiring activist. who knows who umbrellaman really is. there’s an umbrella girl and guy in all black at the white house protests where trump posed. they keep going to the front as the crouds retreat.

  65. @Will Rubel: Thanks for the breakdown.

    @Doikster: Thanks again for the additional details!

    @Dominic I have been in touch with E.J. We are now working something out for a followup post. Thanks for stepping up!

  66. Why hasn’t the ex-wife been interviewed?

    Who first distributed the text screenshots?

    Why hasn’t Easley been asked about what he discussed with Umbrella Man?

  67. Something that stuck out to me but I haven’t seen mentioned yet:
    In the reporter’s video, the graffiti on the red door looks like it has been painted there before and then painted out in red before being painted in white spray paint again.
    Like someone tested out what it was going to look like when they actually did it. Or they messed it up and decided to start over. You can see the “ghost” underneath.

    Also in the same video, the door on the right is open. Umbrella walks up and hangs around without any sense of alarm and seems to know the bald, white, goatee guy who is leaning on a motorcycle. At the very end of that video they seem to be having a laugh together.

    It seems to me the umbrella guy who is with the nurses and hurt kid is a different guy. His jeans look lighter. He is not wearing the fancy respirator but just a white dust mask and has something on his Tshirt (A silver fish maybe?) but no black coat. I think that is a different guy altogether.

  68. If Umbrella Man is a cop, why does he return to the Autozone where his identity could more easily be found out?

    Also, maybe Goatee Man knows something?

  71. Fitawo might have something there. I wonder how tall Branden M. Wolfe is. He doesn’t look big in the photos I’ve seen and Umbrella Man seems pretty tall.

  73. Although there is a resemblance, Wolfe does not look enough like Umbrella Man to me.

    Why is there no reward offered by the St. Paul police department for information about Umbrella Man?

    Isn’t facial recognition technology super advanced these days?? Why hasn’t Umbrella Man been identified yet? Probably millions of people have watched the video and seen his face.

    Why have no detailed questions been asked of Easley yet?

    What about the ex-wife?

    What do you guys think about the surveillance footage recently released by the St. Paul PD?

  74. Look to Military or ex-military for dentification of both the Umbrella Man & Pizza Guy. The militant Militia called the boogaloo bois was all over Facebook & other sites instructing it’s members to infiltrate these Marches, start Riots, Fires, etc. to incite the crowds. They want a 2nd civil War!
    “Intelligence officials at Homeland Security told local law enforcement that they should keep an eye out for domestic terrorists to use the protests of George Floyd’s death as an opportunity to cause violence and pit people of color against the police.”
    “Those exact things were captured on film in the days that followed. Protesters ultimately started carrying violent agitators to the police if they witnessed them breaking things, looting, lighting things on fire or other acts of violence.”
    ““Go to the riots and support our own cause, Use their anger to fuel our fire. Think outside the box. We have mobs of angry people to use to our advantage.”

    https://www.rawstory.com/2020/06/boogaloo-militia-members-have-infiltrated-the-us-military-and-theyre-aiming-to-overthrow-the-american-government/

    https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/xg8g87/the-us-military-has-a-boogaloo-problem

  75. There was recently a hack of police departments released with their internal communication. Was the St Paul station part of that hack and did it capture the location of Pederson during the time that Umbrella guy was out at Autozone?

  76. Interesting compilation Ed Champion and Doikster, a good read, more comprehensive than many major media outlets and even the Pioneer Press and Strib. It remains mysterious and many questions still linger. One question you raised is why would Umbrella Guy come back to the scene of the crime? If we are to assume that there is a link between the Masarati and Umbrella Man then maybe he is coming back to his car in the parking lot? He is just passing by in that direction. The photo of Branden M. Wolfe and Umbrella Guy bear a striking resemblance in the shot that gets close up to his face. If it were him would he confess to being Umbrella Man and clear matters? I would point out that your article mistcasts Pizza Guy as throwing a barrier when he is clearly trying to stop people from destroying the precinct. He stops people from throwing the barrier and pushes them away as they are attacking the building. You also portray him as a community member with good intents. There is no doubt about the action of Umbrella Man. He is focused on his mission and came well equipped for it. You make a pretty good case to tie Umbrella Man and Pizza Guy together but the question remains why? If they are conspiring together why such video evidence at the scene of the crime? Were they really in it together or was it made to make the Pizza Guy a fall guy? There is a Vaudevillian element to their interaction. Was it just nerves or was the Pizza Guy just high? Maybe he was just trying to pacify the Umbrella Guy. If you believe destruction is not the answer and hurtful to your cause you would try to stop it. In two instances Pizza Guy is seen trying to stop vandalism at the precinct and Umbrella Guy. There does seem to be something premeditated here as things go down on film at the epicenter of it all. As it was mentioned Free shit is a narrative that the MAGA crowd try to attach as the primary motive of BLM protesters and curiously it was graffitied there before windows were broken, Umbrella Guy conspicuously passes by this graffiti and it seems rather conspicuous in the film. The relationship between Umbrella Guy and Goatee Guy is maybe one of the most interesting things to come out in your research. Just who is that unmasked man? This all seems orchestrated. Umbrella Guy’s friend also is a curious figure. He has the same type of high grade, pro looking gas mask. What is he up to while most of this is going on? What is going on? The footage is consistent with what was caught on film here and in many cities across the country that it was often white guys doing the heavy damage, and first man in. For a long time various protests have often been believed to be sabotaged by external forces attempting to discredit a movement but the Flyd protests are perhaps the first where this phenomenon has been captured on film and with some frequency. It would be interesting to see a compilation of footage from other cities protests. David Christhilf floated an improbable connection between Antifa and Umbrella Guy. Conservative media has hyped them as aggressors with scant proof because Antifa is more of a resistance and not aggressors. As Owl Mirror points out and many connections have been drawn nationwide to the destructive militant principles of the Boogaloo Boi movement. They deliberately infilrate BLM for photo ops and do stuff like this to discredit the movement and sow further chaos. The Boogaloo Bois are into dark plots of stirring racial tensions into a full blown civil war as Owl Mirror quoted one of them saying “there are mobs of angry people to use to our advantage” The Boogaloos have gone so far as to kill a Federal Security agent in Oakland during a Floyd protest to frame BLM. Lastly the pizza that notorious pizza seems to be the source of many controversies. Some wondered why is he carrying the pizza box around?? A rather curious suspicion but truth is often stranger than fiction, who knows? I’ll contribute my own strange habits here and add that some people don’t believe in littering and I even take that one step further if I know a recycling receptical around I will carry something with me even further to insure it ends up getting recycled. Why is he carrying it like a book?? Anybody on a budget knows that if the budget is tight you’ll save that pizza until the last bite so after the za hardens up from that gooey melted stage you can carry that box any which way. Why didn’t he set the pizza down when they were talking about throwing down?? Pizza Guy seems to slyly use that pizza as a shield because he doesn’t seem to be the fighting type, he also seems to be stalling with the “hold my blunt” move. And if they are so friendly why doesn’t he offer him a slice of that pizza?? But we digress…

  78. In video #2 you clearly hear pizza guy say towards the end of it “Hey this guys a police officer right here”

  79. seems like the results don’t warrant the attention of this forum, or maybe they don’t support what you were expecting…. what’s your take, “Reluctant Habits”???

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